IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/osf/socarx/6cvbh.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Journal of the History of Economic Thought preprints - Harry Helson’s Adaptation-Level Theory, Happiness Treadmills, and Behavioral Economics

Author

Listed:
  • Edwards, José

Abstract

Psychologist Harry Helson [1898-1977] developed Adaptation-Level (AL) theory during the 1930s-70s, while economics was being refined through ordinalism and expected utility theory. This essay accounts for the process of transmission of AL theory from psychophysics, to behavioral psychology and eventually economics. It explains how the concept of adaptation reflectance, originally intended to explain color vision, developed into an experimental approach that caught the attention of both psychologists and economists working on welfare analysis and behavioral research. It also argues that the history of AL theory – so far absent from narratives about economics and psychology – is worth exploring in order to gain a better understanding of the relationship between the two disciplines.

Suggested Citation

  • Edwards, José, 2017. "Journal of the History of Economic Thought preprints - Harry Helson’s Adaptation-Level Theory, Happiness Treadmills, and Behavioral Economics," SocArXiv 6cvbh, Center for Open Science.
    • Handle: RePEc:osf:socarx:6cvbh
    DOI: 10.31219/osf.io/6cvbh
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://osf.io/download/592dcc096c613b0264c48740/
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.31219/osf.io/6cvbh?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Colin Camerer & Linda Babcock & George Loewenstein & Richard Thaler, 1997. "Labor Supply of New York City Cabdrivers: One Day at a Time," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 112(2), pages 407-441.
    2. Edwards, José M., 2010. "Joyful Economists: Remarks On The History Of Economics And Psychology From The Happiness Studies Perspective," Journal of the History of Economic Thought, Cambridge University Press, vol. 32(4), pages 611-613, December.
    3. Edwards, José M. & Pellé, Sophie, 2011. "Capabilities For The Miserable; Happiness For The Satisfied," Journal of the History of Economic Thought, Cambridge University Press, vol. 33(3), pages 335-355, September.
    4. Nicola Giocoli, 2003. "Modeling Rational Agents," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 2585.
    5. Amos Tversky & Daniel Kahneman, 1991. "Loss Aversion in Riskless Choice: A Reference-Dependent Model," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 106(4), pages 1039-1061.
    6. D. Wade Hands, 2011. "Back To The Ordinalist Revolution: Behavioral Economic Concerns In Early Modern Consumer Choice Theory," Metroeconomica, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 62(2), pages 386-410, May.
    7. José M. Edwards, 2014. "Consumer power and market control: Exploring consumer behaviour in affluent contexts (1946-1980)," The European Journal of the History of Economic Thought, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(4), pages 699-723, August.
    8. Esther-Mirjam Sent, 2004. "Behavioral Economics: How Psychology Made Its (Limited) Way Back Into Economics," History of Political Economy, Duke University Press, vol. 36(4), pages 735-760, Winter.
    9. Paul Dolan & Daniel Kahneman, 2008. "Interpretations Of Utility And Their Implications For The Valuation Of Health," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 118(525), pages 215-234, January.
    10. Easterlin, Richard A, 2001. "Income and Happiness: Towards an Unified Theory," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 111(473), pages 465-484, July.
    11. Daniel Kahneman & Amos Tversky, 2013. "Prospect Theory: An Analysis of Decision Under Risk," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Leonard C MacLean & William T Ziemba (ed.), HANDBOOK OF THE FUNDAMENTALS OF FINANCIAL DECISION MAKING Part I, chapter 6, pages 99-127, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    12. Kahneman, Daniel & Thaler, Richard H, 1991. "Economic Analysis and the Psychology of Utility: Applications to Compensation Policy," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 81(2), pages 341-346, May.
    13. Daniel Kahneman & Jack L. Knetsch & Richard H. Thaler, 1991. "Anomalies: The Endowment Effect, Loss Aversion, and Status Quo Bias," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 5(1), pages 193-206, Winter.
    14. José M. Edwards, 2012. "Observing Attitudes, Intentions, and Expectations (1945–73)," History of Political Economy, Duke University Press, vol. 44(5), pages 137-159, Supplemen.
    15. Andrew E. Clark & Paul Frijters & Michael A. Shields, 2008. "Relative Income, Happiness, and Utility: An Explanation for the Easterlin Paradox and Other Puzzles," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 46(1), pages 95-144, March.
    16. Richard A. Easterlin (ed.), 2002. "Happiness in Economics," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 2479.
    17. Maas,Harro, 2005. "William Stanley Jevons and the Making of Modern Economics," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521827126.
    18. Luigino Bruni & Robert Sugden, 2007. "The road not taken: how psychology was removed from economics, and how it might be brought back," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 117(516), pages 146-173, January.
    19. Shira B. Lewin, 1996. "Economics and Psychology: Lessons for Our Own Day from the Early Twentieth Century," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 34(3), pages 1293-1323, September.
    20. Floris Heukelom, 2012. "Three explanations for the Kahneman-Tversky Programme of the 1970s," The European Journal of the History of Economic Thought, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(5), pages 797-828, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Drakopoulos, Stavros A., 2023. "The Economics of Wellbeing and Psychology: An Historical and Methodological Viewpoint," MPRA Paper 117891, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Drakopoulos, Stavros A. & Katselidis, Ioannis, 2017. "The Relationship between Psychology and Economics: Insights from the History of Economic Thought," MPRA Paper 77485, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Jimena Hurtado & Johanna Mick, 2011. "Utilitarianism and Economic Behavior. Looking for Benthamite Traces," Documentos CEDE 9251, Universidad de los Andes, Facultad de Economía, CEDE.
    4. Botond Kőszegi & Matthew Rabin, 2006. "A Model of Reference-Dependent Preferences," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 121(4), pages 1133-1165.
    5. Pokorny, Kathrin, 2008. "Pay--but do not pay too much: An experimental study on the impact of incentives," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 66(2), pages 251-264, May.
    6. Fırat Yaman & Patricia Cubí-Mollá & Sergiu Ungureanu, 2023. "Which Decision Theory Describes Life Satisfaction Best? Evidence from Annual Panel Data," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 24(3), pages 893-916, March.
    7. Jacobs Martin, 2016. "Accounting for Changing Tastes: Approaches to Explaining Unstable Individual Preferences," Review of Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 67(2), pages 121-183, August.
    8. Pessali, Huascar & Berger, Bruno, 2010. "A teoria da perspectiva e as mudanças de preferência no mainstream: um prospecto lakatoseano [Prospect theory and preference change in the mainstream of economics: a Lakatosian prospect]," MPRA Paper 26104, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Banzhaf, H. Spencer, 2016. "Constructing markets: environmental economics and the contingent valuation controversy," MPRA Paper 78814, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Alex Dickson & Colin Jennings & Gary Koop, 2016. "Domestic Violence and Football in Glasgow: Are Reference Points Relevant?," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 78(1), pages 1-21, February.
    11. Isabel Günther & Johannes K. Maier, 2014. "Poverty, Vulnerability, and Reference-Dependent Utility," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 60(1), pages 155-181, March.
    12. Dohmen, Thomas, 2014. "Behavioral labor economics: Advances and future directions," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 71-85.
    13. Andrew E. Clark & Paul Frijters & Michael A. Shields, 2006. "Income and happiness: Evidence, explanations and economic implications," PSE Working Papers halshs-00590436, HAL.
    14. Gagnon, Nickolas & Saulle, Riccardo D. & Zaunbrecher, Henrik W., 2021. "Decreasing Incomes Increase Selfishness," FEEM Working Papers 317127, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM).
    15. feng dai & Jianqiang Liu, 2004. "Development Power and Derivative Process: A Mode and Theory for Macroeconomy Analysis," Macroeconomics 0403015, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    16. Brian Chi-ang Lin & Siqi Zheng & Doruk İriş, 2016. "Economic Targets And Loss-Aversion In International Environmental Cooperation," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(3), pages 624-648, July.
    17. Ronald Schettkat, 2018. "Revision or Revolution? A Note on Behavioral vs. Neoclassical Economics," Schumpeter Discussion Papers sdp18005, Universitätsbibliothek Wuppertal, University Library.
    18. Eduard Marinov, 2017. "The 2017 Nobel Prize in Economics," Economic Thought journal, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences - Economic Research Institute, issue 6, pages 117-159.
    19. Tim Fry & Richard Heaney & Warren McKeown, 2007. "Will investors change their superannuation fund given the choice?," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 47(2), pages 267-283, June.
    20. Pietro Guarnieri & Tommaso Luzzati, 2018. "Riflessioni intorno al tema della razionalità in economia," Discussion Papers 2018/237, Dipartimento di Economia e Management (DEM), University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:osf:socarx:6cvbh. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: OSF (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://arabixiv.org .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.